Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1887-04-29

The revival OF thS question ns to the
authorship OF Leah Conveys novels
ond tho proluct on OF o,idon o by h:s
cye utors that tho las. story OF ali,
Living or Dead" WIS completed eigh-
teen months before lis DO th recalls TO
ne another case in which the same
question could not be so satisfactorily
answered. Some time ago / rettNeT
Letter from q firm OF lawyo in LIN
CONS Inn Fields, who occupy the
house next door to that which Dickens
describes as the residence OF "Mr.
Iulkinghorn. ("It is let off in sets oil
chambers now, and in the fragments OF
Its greatness lawyers lie like maggots IN
nuts. y They said that they had been
referred to me by London publisher
and that their object in writing was 70
In lulre if they could not obtain through
me some redress for client who was
the victim Of great injustice. This
client, a lady, was the author of large
number Of very popular stories, TO
which she was constantly adding
through the columns of some such pa
per as the Family Herald: and as fast
as they appeared there they were stolen
by similar story paper in New York.
leo injustice did not end here, ior'
while they were issued anonymously IN
LONDON, the pirates n New York at
trlbuted them to Bertha NJ. Clay,
fictitious name which they had invented
and used without the sanction or knowl-
edge of the victimized author.
Now could ]. they inquired, suggest
any means by which the lady, who was
an invalid, with q large fam ly de-
pendent upon her, could induce the
pirates to surrender some OF their
spoils? She did not want "back pay,
but hoped that sore arrangement
could be made by Witt she might
profit by future works. In proof OF
the value at which her work was held,
the lawyers inc'oscl a column adver-
tsmont from tho Trij1ue, setting
forth as an extraordinary attra ton
the opening OF new serial by the
Bertha NJ. Clay" aforesaid. ! at once
communicated with the guilty pabllsh-
ers IN New York, and to my surprise
member of the firm, "the mildest man
nered man." etc, Immediately came to
Boston to see me on the subject. lie
admitted that they had invented a
name for the author because they had
deemed it advisable to have the stories
attr butcd to some person, if only the
shadow OF nom de plume but they
had always paid for the stories IN
most handsome manner. Whom had
they paid? Why, the publ sher of the
paper in which the stories appeared IN
London. was amazed at the sums
mentioned, which were four or five
lines as great for these very sensational
stories as they would have been for
genuine literary work; but we all know
TOO well that blood and thunder are
still more marketable than any other
commodities that may be purchased in
Grub street. Some further CORE
spondence showed that the remittances
from New York had been quietly peck
eted by tho London publisher, who
pleaded as a justification that he paid
,he author fixed sum per annum, prac-
ically a salary, for the exclusive con-
troll of her work, and he considered
that this included the American rs well
as the English market. Tho arrange
ment was profitable to him certainly,
Tor the amounts he rec lived from Amer
lea were larger than her salary, and
.hus he had the use Of her stories in his
own paper for nothing.
| succeeded in establishing direct
relationship between her aud the New
York firm, but it had scarcely been eff
fected when she died. The similarity
between this case and Hugh Conway's"
is that though her death occurred
nearly three years ago, new stories by
Bertha NJ. Clay" are constantly APP
pearing; and as l know she left no COM
pleted work behind her, l wonder who
it is that still carries on the business"
-NetC York Critic.